Process for forming containers



March 4 19:24.

A. E. PAIGE PROCESS FOR FORMING CONTAINERS Original Filed July 22 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 HGH.

A. E. PAIGE March 4 1924. 1,485,427

PROCESS FOR FORMING CONTAINERS Original- Filed July 22 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FfQ/YI I Flam FIG/Hm A. E, PAIGE PROCESS FOR' FORMING CONTAINERS Original Filed July 22. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 4, 1924.

UNITED S FFICE.

PROCESS FOR FORMING CONTAINERS.

Original appncation filed July 22, 1922 Serial No. 486,789. Divided and this application filed February 14, 1922. Serial No. 536,519.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR E. PAIGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Processes for Forming Containers, whereof the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial 486,789 filed July 22, 1922 for Letters Patent of the United States.

-My invention is particularly applicable to sheet metal cans used in the transportation and storage of dairy products. Such cans are used by wholesalers to deliver ice cream, frozencustards etc., to retailers, and are used by the latter to hold such products while they are being dispensed; the emptied cans being thereafter returned to the wholesalers to be refilled and again distributed. Consequently, such cans must be extremely durable to withstand the rough handling "and stresses and wear to which they are inevitably subjected. Moreover, as such containers are retained in salt ice water to preserve their contents, their bodies must be permanently liquid tight, and, to prevent contamination of their contents, they must be adapted to be substantially hermetically sealed by closures which can be instantly opened and shut, to facilitate dispensation of their contents. Furthermore,

be readily cleaned ofevery vestige of their contents, by mechanical means, for such products readily and rapidly decompose- Therefore, the object and effect of my invention is to provide cans having the char. acteristics above contemplated. However, it is to be understood that I do not desire to limit my invention to such specific use. My invention includes the various novel features of construction, arrangement and procedure hereinafter specified, and particularly that the interior line of junction between the bottom and sidewall of the container is spaced inwardly from said side wall; so that said junction is exposed for cleaning.

In the drawings; Fig. I is an elevation,

such containers should not have any internal corners or recesses or oints which cannot.

partly in section of a container embodying my invention. Fig. II is a fragmentary plan view of the structure shown in Fig. I.

Fi III is a fragmentary transverse sectiona view taken on the line III, III, in

Fig. V is a fragmentary sectional view.

s'imilar'to Fig. I ut showing a modified form of joint, whichmay be formed by a process including a spinning operation, or y a pressing operation in lieu of such spinni'n operation.

Fi I I is a perspective view of a sheet meta cylinder which is the blank from which the body of'the container shown in Figs. I and IV is formed.

Fig. VII is a perspective view of a cylin-' drical ring of sheet metal which is the blank adapted to form the flange to support and seal the lid closure on the container body.

Fig. VIII is an elevation of the ring shown in Fig. VII but partly expanded toward its final flange form.

Fig. IX is an elevation of the partly flange ring fitted upon the top thereof.

' Fig. X 1s a diametrical sectional view of a bottom plate adapted to be fitted in the lower end of the container shown in Fig. IX.

Fig. XI is a diagrammatical axial sectional view of said container body, flange ring and bottom plate; showing said bottom plate supported upon its s inning mandrel and the opposite end of sai body supported upon its ex anding and supporting mandrel.

Fig. X is a fragmentary axial sectional view of said container body and bottom plate, similar to Fi XL'but showing the rim of the bottom pIate partially spun over the bottom of the container body.

Fi XIII is a fragmentary sectional view of su stantially full size, corresponding with the u per right hand corner of Fig. XI, and owing the con ration of the inner formed container body with the completed edge of the mandrel which supports said bottom plate.

Fig. XIV is a fragmentary sectional view, of the same parts shown in Fig. XIII, but with the rim of the bottom plate spun over the bottom edge of the container body, in

the cylindrical form.

Fig. XV is a fragmentary sectional view of the same parts shown in Fig. XIV, but with the free edge of therim spun inwardly, with the container body, to make a smooth internal joint with said bottom plate.

Fig. XVI is a fragmentary radial sectional view of the same parts of the con tainer shown in Fig. V, but showing the configuration of the inner edge of the man drel supporting the bottom plate and showing the initial position of the container body and its bottomplate.

Fig. XVII is a fragmentary sectional view of the same parts shown in Fig. XVI, but with the bottom edge of the container body spun inwardly, with the corner of the bottom plate, to the configuration of said mandrel and forming a smoothly curved inner surface at the junction of said body and plate.

Fig. XVIII is a fragmentary sectional view of the same parts shown in Fig. XV II, with the addition of the exterior reinforcing rim, shown in Fig. V.

Fig. XIX is an elevation of half a container, partly in section, and of the modified form contemplated in Fig. V.

Fig. XX is an elevation of half a container partly in section showing a modified form of the bottom 'joint shown in Fig. XIX.

Fig. XXI is a fragmentary sectional view, of the parts shown at the lower right hand corner of Fig. XX but of substantially full size and showing the joint be tween the container body and its bottom plate as it exists in a finished container.

Fig. XXII is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the parts of the container shown in Fig. XIX, but in process of assemblage and with the die element by which they'may be conveniently assembled to the form shown in Fig. XIX, without a spinning operation.

Fig. XXIII is a fragmentary longitudi- Iial sectional view of the parts of the container shown in Fig. XXI but in process of assemblage and with die elements by which they may be conveniently assembled to the form shown in Fig. XXI, without a spinning operation.

Referring to Fig. I; the can body 1 the removable lid closure 2 conveniently provided with the rigid handle 3; said handle having its opposite ends 4 welded in recesses 5 pressed in the top of said closure 2. Said can body 1 is formed of primarily flat sheet metal. A rectangular piece of such manner metal, conveniently low carbon steel, is first bent to the cylindrical blank form 6 shown in Fig. VI and then united at its abutting edges 7, conveniently by an electric welding operation, to form a blank from which the body of a can such as shown in Fig. I is formed. A cylindrical ring 9 of sheet metal, shown .in Fig. VII is similarly bent and united at its abutting edge 10 to constitute a blank from which may be formed the flange ring 11 'as a fixture upon said can body i, to support said lid closure 2 as shown at the right hand side of Fig. I and thus substantially hermetically seal the joint between the bottom edge of said closure and the can, when in the position shown in said figure. Said flange ring blank 9 is expanded, by a pressing operation, from the cylindrical form shown in Fig. VII to the form shown in Fig. VIII; then pushed upon said cylindrical can blank 6 until its upper edge is flush with the top of the latter, and the expanded skirt 12 of said ring blank 9 is pressed inwardly, against said blank 6, until it is curled to form the toric bead 13 indicated in Figs. I, IX, and XI. That pressing operation may be conveniently effected by the dies 14- and 15 while the blank 6 is supported upon the mandrel 16, as indicated in Figs. IX and XXII. Such operation constricts said ring head 13 upon said can blank 6. However, I subsequently expand said can blank 6' within said flange ring 11, slightly stretching the metal of both of said parts, to insure that they shall thereafter remain in intimate contact. Such expansion is conveniently effected by thrusting the mandrel 18 into said blank 6, as.'indicated in Fig. XI.

During the aforesaid operation of forming said head 13 upon said can body 6, any irregularities in the intended circular form of the lower edge of said body 6 are corrected by said die 16 upon which said body is pressed as indicated in Fig. IX; so that said body 6 will readily fit over the bottom plate 20 as shown in Fig. XI.

Said bottom plate 20 is also formed from primarily flat sheet metal, by pressing operations which first cut a circular disk of such metal and then distort it to the cylin-.

drical form shown in Fig. X. It is to be particularly noted that the circumferential edge 21 of the cylindrical portion 22 of said bottom plate 20, which is resented upwardly in the can against t e inner face of the cylindrical wall of the latter as shown in Fig. XI, is primarily rounded as indicated in Fig. XIII so that it slips within the lower end of said body blank 6 as shown in Fig. XI, without scraping or otherwise distorting said body. Thereafter, the primarily plane annular flange 24 of said bottom plate 20 is bent over the adjacent edge of said can body blank 6, first, as indicated in full lines in Fig. XII, and, finally, to the form shown in Fig. XIV, wherein said annular flange 24 of the bottom plate 20 is cylindrical and in contact with the outer cylindrical surface of the wall of the can body blank 6; the cylindrical ortion 22 of said bottom plate 20 bein li ewise in contact with the inner su ace of said cylindrical wall of the can bod I find it convenient to thus disedge 27 of said bottom flan e 24 is pressed inwardly, toward the axis 0 rotation of the can body, carrying with it a portion of the latter to form-the annular internally projecting sharp edged ridge 28. Contemporaneously the rimarily rounded inner corner 21 of S8.l(i%@tt0ln late 20 is deformed, inwardly, over the a jacent edge of said mandrel 25, from the configuration shown in F ig. XIV to the configuration shown in Fig. XV, so that it has an annular ridge 30 complementary to said ridge 28, forming a curved junction between the can body 1 and its bottom late 20 as shown in Fig. XV.

It may observed, that the last described step in the formation of the bottom joint of the can 1, shown in Figs. I and XV, not only produces the desired rounded inner surface at the junction of said can body with its bottom plate 20, but serves to materially stifi'en said joint at a region where it is subjected to severe stresses, and also eliminates the sharp corner lpreviously presented by the bottom plate dicated at 27 in Fig. XIV.

Finally said can body is coated, all over, with a film of some material capable of re sisting the corrosive efiect of water upon the ferric metal parts of the can above described. For instance, I find it convenient to coat the can with sucha film 32 of block,

tin, as indicated in Fig. IV; so that the entire surfaces of said can i and its closure 2 are smoothly continuous, and, may, commouently, be readily cleaned by washing them.

Referring to Figs. V, XVI, XVII, XVIII and XIX; a container having such an iniernally rounded configuration as shown in Fig. I and above described may be difierentiy formed, as follows:

Fig. XVI; a bottom plate 34, shaped l ke the bottom plate 24 shown in Figs.

ange 24 as inand XIII, except that it is slightly larger in diameter in proportion to the can be y38 and has no p rota mandrel 35 in opposition to said can body lank 36. Said bottom plate '34 and can body blank 36 are then spun inwardly to the configuration shown at 37 in Fig. XVII. Thereafter, the external reinforcing band 38, which is a cylindrical tube, is forced over the cylindrical portion 39 of said bottom plate 34 and the ad'acent cylindrical portion 40 of said can body blank 36, to the position shown in Fig. XVIII, thus forming a joint such as is shown at the lower left hand corner of Fig. XIX, which, when finished, by a coating 41, has the form shown in Fig. V. The latter form, shown in Fig. V, has the advantage that the bottom plate 34 may be removed and. replaced by another if it becomes perforated or otherwise damaged. Whereas, it is practically impossible to remove and re lace the bottom plate 20 shown in Fig. IV, because said plate is clinched in the form shown, by the spinning operation to which its edge 27 has been subjected as above described. However, the form shown in Fig. IV may be considered to be advantageous in that the bottom plate is insepara l united to the container body and can not removed even by the heatin operation which is necessary to separate t e parts of the structure shown in Fig. V.

The form of my invention shown in Figs. XX and XXI, difiers from that shown in Figs. V and XIX in that it is also provided with a stifiening ring 43 which is pressed within the cylindrical portion 39 of. the bottom plate 34 beforethe structure is provided with the protective coating 45 with which it is finished as shown in Fig. XXI. The latter construction is advantageous in that the joint between the container body and its bottom plate, and the bottom edge of the container, are reinforced to a greater degree. r

However, a container such as last above described with reference to Figs. V and XIX may be assembled without the spinning operation above described, by primarily forming the bottom plate and the lower edge of the can body of the configuration shown in Fig. XVII, instead of the configuration shown in Fig. XVI, and by simple pressing operations. In such case; the bottom plate, which in. indicated at 47 in Fig. XXII, is conveniently supported by a die 48 in axial aiinement with the can body 49 and the annular dies 1%, 15 and 50, so that, when said dies are thrust axially the container is assembled to the form indicated in Fig. XIX wherein the lower inwardly curved edge 49 or the container body is complementary to the inner surface of the bottom plate.

indicated in Fig. XXHK; the various ane flange, is supported by the rec elements of the container shown in Figs. XX and XXI may be assembled by a similar pressing operation, the reinforcing ring 43 being mounted upon the die 52 which is substituted for the die 48 shown in Fig. XXII.

It may be observed that, regardless of the different methods of construction above described, the containers produced thereby each have the characteristic that the dividing'line 54 between the container body and its bottom plate is in spaced relation with the inner cylindrical circumference of the container body so that, even if it presented a groove, it would be accessible to any ordinary implement employed for washing and wiping such containers, so that the surface of the container at such junction may be thoroughly cleaned by such ordinary means, as distinguished from structures oi the prior art wherein the junction between the bottom plate of the container and its body is at the extreme inner circumference of the latter and thus rendered inaccessible to ordinary cleaning devices because of the relative angular position of the surfaces which meet at such a junction.

Therefore, aside from the various other novel features of construction and arrangement above described; I desire to broadly claim such formation of a junction between walls of a container which extend transversely to each other, that the junction line is presented, within the container, in spaced relation with the main wall of the container, so as to be accessible as described, and, therefore, I do not desire to limit myself to the precise details of construction and arrangement herein set forth, as it is obvious that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the essential features of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

it. The process of forming a container with a tubular body and a bottom plate; which consists in forming said bottom plate with a cylindrical portion, surrounded by a transversely extending margin, said cylindrical portion being oi such diameter as to fit within'said body, and having a rounded edge at the inner end of said cylindrical portion; thrusting said cylindrical portion oi. said bottom/plate into said body to the extent limited by said transversely extending" margin on said plate; then spinning said margin to cylindrical form exterior to said body and in contact therewith; then spinning the free edge oi said plate against said body and deforming said body and the cylindrical portion of said plate inwardly and thereby forming an annular ridge in said body ham ing its inner edge complenrentaiy to the inner edge of said cylindrical portion of said plate and in spaced relation with the inner insane? wall oi? said body; wheieby a smoothly continuous curved surface is formed upon the interior oi said container, at the iunction of said bottom plate and body, by said complementary portions thereof.

2. in a process of forming a container with a tubular body and a bottom plate; the step which consists in pressing the side wall of said body inwardly, with respect to a cylindrical portion of said plate inserted within said body, and thereby forming a smoothly continuous curved surface upon the interior of said container at the junction of said bottom plate and body; the junction line between said bottom plate and body, at the interior of the latter, being in spaced relation with the inner circumference of the main wall of said body. a

3. The process of forming a container with a tubular body and a bottom plate; which consists in forming said bottom plate with a cylindrical portion of such diameter as to fit within said body, and having an inwardly converging edge at the inner end of said cylindrical portion; thrusting said cylindrical portion of said bottom plate into said body; and thereafter spinning said body and deforming it inwardly and thereby "forming an annular ridge in said body having its inner edge in spaced relation with the inner wall of said body and complementary to the inner edge of said bottom plate; whereby a smoothly continuous curved surface is formed ujoon the interior of said container, at the junction of said 'bottom plate and body, by said complementary portions thereof.

4. The process or formin a'container with a tubular body and a bott m plate; which consists in "forming said bottom plate with a cylindrical portion, having its end presented to said body inwardly converged; and pressing both said body and bottom plate inwardly, and thereby forming an annular ridge in said body having its inner edge complementary to the inner edge of said plate and in spaced relation with the inner wall of said body; whereby a smoothly continuous surface is formed upon the interior said container, at the junction of said bottom plate and body, bysaid complementary portions thereof.

5. "in a process of forming a container with a tubular body and a bottom plate; forming said bottom plate with a cylindrical portion of such diameter as to within said body, and having a rounded edge (as 21; at its inner end; and spinning and deforming said rounded edge {as 54-) inwardly to form an annular substantially sharp edge of diameter than the inner wall or body.

6, in a process or? forming a container with a tubular body and a bottom plate; forming said bottom plate with a cylindrical portion having a rounded edge as an its inner end; and spinn n5 and deforming Vania, this twenty-eighth day of January, said rounded ed e mwar y to form an an- 1922. I nular substantia ly sharp edge (as 54) of less diameter than the inner wall of said ARTHUR 5 body. Witnesses:

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto -CAROLYN E. BEUTER,

signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- WILLIAM J. KENNEDY. 

